


Towards the Dawn

by A_Pile_of_Flowers



Category: Drag-On Dragoon | Drakengard, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: (Canonical) suicide baiting, Also despite the summary it's not actually a tragedy lol, At least I have no plan for romance YET, Bc there’s not enough canon information, Because I can’t be bothered to compose an original song just for a stupid fanfic lol, But it's a great game (story-wise) so I recommend you play it anyway, Crossover, Elements from other game series, Gen, Knowledge of Drakengard 3 is not needed to read this, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is an Intoner, Most of the Intoner stuff is my headcanon, Mostly just their songs, Multi, No Romance, Not Beta Read, Self-Indulgent, it might change in the future, suicidal thought
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24129040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Pile_of_Flowers/pseuds/A_Pile_of_Flowers
Summary: Midoriya Izuku died that fateful day. Or at least he was supposed to be, but a mysterious woman who claimed to be a flower offered him with a Pact: in exchange for another chance to live and access to her power, he had to bear her curse for as long as he lived.Despite knowing that grief might await him if he took her hand, he still chose to live.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 47





	1. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually I have another account with a few somewhat popular stories but I haven’t updated any of them in a long time and I feel guilty for starting a new story but I’ve wanted to write an Intoner!Izuku for a long time so I made a new account just for this lmao  
> (Also because my IRL friend found out about that other account and I’m embarrassed)  
> I hope you’ll be able to enjoy this story, even if it’s confusing at first and my English is horrible and I always write OOC characters :)

_ "What the hell can you do? You're Quirkless!" _

This was a sentence that Izuku has heard countless times in his life. 

When his Quirk failed to manifest past the age of 6 even though he didn’t have the extra toe joint in his feet, he was branded as Quirkless by everyone around him. Children and adults alike—even his teachers, who were supposed to give guidance and support—began to treat him as someone useless who couldn’t do anything right and wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything meaningful in his life.

All of it because he was  _ ‘Quirkless’ _ .

But the thing with Midoriya Izuku was… he was supposed to have a Quirk.

It was just that it never manifested.

_ “Even after all these years, there are still things that we don’t know about Quirk. The circumstances behind the manifestation are one of them since it was different for every individual. For some people, it just came to them as naturally as breathing. They just manifested their Quirks without any special circumstances one day, which are more common with people with mutation Quirks. _

_ Others needed to fulfill some sort of condition to trigger the manifestation of their Quirks. These types of Quirks are what we call 'invisible' Quirks because the condition to manifest is so specific and obscure that they’re almost impossible to be found. I know someone who believed himself to be ‘Quirkless’ for the majority of his life suddenly discovering that he has a Quirk that gave people in his 15m radius a significant boost in physical power if he peeled an orange while humming the Happy Birthday tune, so really, the trigger for your son’s Quirk could be  _ anything.

_ What I’m trying to say is… even if your son has a Quirk, he might not manifest soon or  _ at all _ unless he managed to meet this obscure trigger. It’s good to have a dream, but I highly suggest to consider another career option for him—a safer one—in case he never found his trigger.” _

That was the last time Izuku and his mom went to a Quirk specialist.

❀

Izuku wanted to be a Hero.

Ever since he was a child, he wanted to be a Hero who can smile even in the most grievous time and inspire others to not give up. He wanted to be a Hero whose mere presence will reassure people and give them courage. He wanted to be a Hero strong enough to carry the hope of everyone around him.

He wanted to be a Hero like All Might. 

Even though he accepted that he would likely end up never manifesting his Quirk, because his mom was still supportive of him and his dreams he decided not to give up no matter what the people around him said about him.

That was the reason he hasn’t given up on his dream yet. The reason he still applied to U.A. even though he was essentially Quirkless and therefore  _ useless _ in the eyes of society.

And yet… and yet…

Izuku fished his burnt notebook out of the pond silently. The book was badly charred, the writing on the cover only barely visible after everything that it has been through. He hugged the book to his chest, the laughter of Katsuki Bakugou and his other bullies still ringing in his ears.

Tears flooded his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

_ ‘Don’t let them get to you. You’re used to this. You’re strong,’  _ was the mantra that Izuku always repeated inside his head whenever something like this happened. He was used to bullying since he had been enduring it for almost 10 years now, but…

_ “If you think you’ll have a Quirk in your next life… go take a swan dive off of the roof!” _

He smiled tiredly as he wiped his eyes with his uniform sleeves.

Just why did his friendship with Kacchan go so wrong that he’d say something like that to him? They used to be so close when they were little…

Izuku looked up to the rooftop of their school.

How would it feel, to jump off from there? Would it be scary? Would his legs tremble as he looked down from that height? Would he be in pain when he hit the ground? Or would he die instantly?

…

_ Would it be liberating? _

_ … _

“Haha… what am I even thinking?” Izuku laughed humorlessly.

Jumping wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t give him Quirk. It wouldn’t make him any closer to his dream.

It wasn’t like he wanted to die anyway. He just… wanted to stop feeling like  _ this _ .

Invisible, like there was no point in his existence.

But the only thing suicide would accomplish was letting Kacchan win and making his mom sad. 

Izuku had decided long ago that he wouldn’t care about what anyone said about him for her sake. He had to chin up and keep moving forward so he could make her proud one day. That's right, even without a Quirk, he will do it! He will get accepted into U.A., become a great Hero, and make Kacchan eat his words.

He nodded, his resolve steeled once again.

‘Let’s hurry home and devise a plan for my future,’ Izuku thought with a smile as he put the burnt and soggy book into his bag and began to tread his usual path home.

Suddenly, he heard a loud sound.

_ Squelch— _ it was a wet sound,  like a toy slime that has been squeezed through the gaps of someone’s finger. Except it was loud and came directly from behind him.

“A medium-sized body… to hide in…” said a guttural voice behind him, and Izuku turned around with dread in his heart as he saw a looming figure of a sludge-like creature emerging from the holes of a sewer lid. 

_ Villain,  _ his mind warned him with dread, but before he could even turn around to run the creature slammed its body onto his and wrapped itself around his stomach. 

A part of the Villain’s sludge-like tendrils latched onto Izuku’s mouth to muffle his voice before it pried his lips open. Izuku panicked, his eyes watering in pain as the creature invaded his mouth and slid down his throat, choking him until he couldn’t breathe.

“Don’t worry… it’ll hurt for just 45 seconds… then it’ll all be  _ over,”  _ Izuku heard the Villain gloat maliciously. 

Izuku struggled with all his strength, trying to get the Villain off him, but it was useless. He couldn’t breathe and his body was getting weak.

Was he dying? Was he going to die here now?

No.

No…!

This was unacceptable! 

He still hasn’t accomplished anything yet. 

He still hasn’t done anything to make his mom happy. 

He can’t die here. 

Not like this… 

He still hasn’t…

His vision blurred.

No…

**_ He won’t accept this kind of fate! _ **

_ “I see. So your resolve is strong enough. _

_ Then, if you don’t want to die… _

_ How about forming a pact with me, Midoriya Izuku?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually write longer chapters but it feels right stopping here. I've already written the next chapter but I'm still not happy with it yet so I will tweak them a little more until I'm satisfied before I'll post it. Thank you for reading!


	2. Pact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the chapter that reminded me that I’m phenomenally bad at writing. I'm so sorry I tried my best kfhgdfkd

That day was supposed to be a calm and slow day for Toshinori.

He had done his 3 hours of heroics that morning and finally finalized his teaching contract with U.A. so he was planning to take it easy for the rest of the day and rest properly for once, but as he was walking home from what was supposed to be a short trip to the convenience store he encountered a purse snatcher in action.

Usually, Toshinori knew his limit well and was more careful not to strain himself, but he just couldn’t stand by seeing someone in trouble right in front of him so he decided to push his limit a little more and chased after the villain.

_A purse snatcher won’t take more than 10 minutes of his time anyway_ , he thought as he chased the villain down into a sewer, his bag of grocery still held in his non-dominant hand.

But Toshinori underestimated the villain.

He was going to try and apprehend the purse-snatcher peacefully as purse snatching was only a small crime, but when he burst out of that sewer hole and saw the villain he was chasing attacking and suffocating a middle school boy, his anger spiked and he immediately pulled back his arm to do one of the moves All Might was famous for.

“Fear not, young man, for I am here!” He exclaimed to reassure the victim and warn the villain before he released his attack.

“TEXAS SMASH!!”

The resulting shockwave from the force of his punch scattered the villain’s viscous body everywhere and he was forced to let go of the child he was attacking. The boy fell to the ground with a loud thump, unconscious.

Though Toshinori was worried for the boy, securing the villain so he wouldn’t become a threat again later on was a priority so he made a quick work of emptying the bottle of Cola he just bought to the sewer and stuffed the villain’s sludgy body inside the bottle before he went to check on the kid.

He crouched beside the boy and shook his shoulder, trying to wake him.

“Hey!” He tried calling out and waited a moment.

The boy didn’t stir.

Growing more concerned, he shook the boy a bit harder.

“Hey! Young man? Young man!”

Receiving no response, dread crept inside his thumping heart. He cursed inside his mind, suspecting the worst. Trying to stay calm, Toshinori ripped the green-haired boy’s _gakuran_ uniform jacket open and pressed his ear onto his chest.

There was only silence.

Without wasting any time, Toshinori kneeled over the boy to try to resuscitate his heart. He was no healer, but he had been trained in CPR, long ago. Chest compressions. Breathe. Check the casualty’s chest. Repeat.

“Come on, young man… don’t give up on me…!” He muttered as he repeated the motions, again and again, trying his best to save the boy even as the cold feeling of anxiety settled in his chest.

Toshinori saw the smoke first before he felt his body submit to the strain of his Quirk. He was taken by surprise by the violent coughs that wracked his body and had to stop his emergency aid to support his own failing body.

“Damn it…”

It didn’t take long for his condition to calm down, but when his hands trembled as he wiped the blood coming out of his mouth on his shirt, he knew that he didn’t have any strength left to continue giving the boy aid.

His hand reached to his pocket to call emergency service, but he _knew_.

Even if he called an ambulance to take him to the hospital, it will already be too late. It takes time for an ambulance to get there, even more to get to the hospital. 

Precious time that the boy didn’t have.

He failed the boy.

❀

Izuku was suffocating.

Dirty sludge forcefully entered him through his mouth and nose. His chest was burning, demanding for oxygen. His vision blackened.

At the very edge before he lost consciousness he heard a voice, then suddenly the chains that imprisoned him were released.

Izuku gasped as he found himself suddenly able to breathe again. 

He opened his eyes and was shocked to see himself standing in complete darkness. There were no ceiling, floor, or walls. Everywhere he could see was just vast, unending darkness.

Hairs rose on the back of his neck and he unconsciously stepped back in his confusion.

“What…? Where am I…?”

He mumbled, not expecting an answer, but then he heard a faint amused huff coming from behind him.

Nervously, he turned around and gasped when he saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen standing there in the darkness with him.

Her skin was pale, her hair even paler. Her white hair combined with her pale skin made her seem like she was glowing amongst all the black around them—ethereal in a way that made her seem she was _more_ than a human.

Her expression was sharp and her pale red eyes were staring straight at him with a strange intensity behind them, but he could tell that they were not malicious in nature so he dropped his guard down a little.

At least before his eyes wandered down and he felt his brain just short-circuited as he registered the sight in front of him.

The woman was not wearing a single article of clothing. 

His face immediately heated up and he flailed, covering his face with his arms in his panic and embarrassment.

“Why are you naked!?” He shrieked, his voice resembling that of a cat that had its tail yanked.

He couldn’t see what expression the woman was wearing as he was covering his face, but he could hear her snorting at his reaction.

“Look down, Dummy. You’re not wearing anything either,” he heard her say.

Slowly, Izuku opened his mouth and looked down, immediately shrieking again when he found that she was speaking the truth. His face heated up even more and he redirected his hands to cover his privates.

“Why am _I_ naked too!?”

The woman looked amused and unfazed at his outburst. Gesturing at him with a hand, she hinted at him to come and follow her. 

“We are inside of your Soul Box, of course we’re not wearing clothes. Our appearance here reflects who we are on the inside—our most vulnerable form,” the woman explained as kept on walking without looking back.

“S-Soul Box?” Izuku stammered, completely lost.

The woman made a low humming sound in affirmation.

“It’s the Box where your soul is stored,” she said shortly like it explained everything. 

It didn’t, but he kept his silence as if it did because he didn’t know how to respond to that. 

Izuku was confused, disorientated, and he didn’t know where he was, what was happening to him, or who she was, but he figured that she didn’t seem like she would harm him so he hesitantly followed after her. Besides, he wouldn’t get any answer by standing still in that place after all. 

One moment he was inside that tunnel being suffocated by a Villain and the next he was standing completely naked in a bizarre dark dimension with an equally naked cryptic woman. Was that Villain’s Sludge Quirk had a hallucinogenic property? Because it was either that or he had gone crazy.

Izuku had so many questions that begged to be answered weighing his tongue, but the white-haired woman looked like she didn’t have much patience so he kept walking, following after her with slow and awkward steps as he was still trying to cover his body, unlike the mysterious woman who walked proudly, uncaring of her nudity.

They walked for a while before she stopped in front of something that he could only describe as a nest _._

There were weapons halfway imbedded into the flower petals covered ground in an unorderly manner. They were mostly swords, but Izuku could see spears, chakrams, and other odd weapons decorating the place as well.

At the center of it all, there was the bud of an enormous glowing white flower. It was towering over everything, glowing with a faint light. There was a string of strange symbols made of light creeping up its stem, coiling around its surface like a chain.

Izuku let out a small awed sound as his eyes trailed up to take in the sight of the flower, but then he noticed the white dragon that was sleeping underneath the giant flora and did a double-take to make sure that his eyes were not making a mistake.

“A _dragon?!_ ” Izuku shrieked again, startled.

Could this get any weirder? Maybe his theory that the Sludge Villain containing hallucinogen was not that far off.

The woman ignored his mini-meltdown and turned to face him.

“So what’s your answer?” Izuku heard the woman asked, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off the sleeping dragon and only half-registered her question.

“Huh?”

What answer?

She turned towards him and rolled her eyes at his dumb response. “I offered you a Pact with me like, _moments_ ago, and you already forgot about it?”

Izuku’s eyes widened, recalling the mysterious voice that rang inside his head when he was on the verge of unconsciousness earlier.

That wasn’t his imagination?

“That voice… it was you?” The woman didn’t deny it and he frowned as he eyed her warily. “Who are you, really? You knew my name.”

Zero nodded as she walked up to the dragon and rested her hand on its snout. The dragon did not wake or move, but Izuku got the impression that it seemed to lean into her touch somehow. 

Strangely, the giant dragon that was supposed to look scary, seemed like a child at that moment.

“I did,” she confirmed but didn’t elaborate further on her answer. “I suppose it’s not fair that I know your name and you don’t know mine, so you can call me Zero. I am the personification of this flower and this dragon… his name is Mikhail.”

The mysterious woman who wished to be called Zero continued before he could say anything in reaction to her revelation.

“Do you know how you could reach this place, Izuku?” She asked.

He didn’t. He didn’t even know wherever _this_ was.

“...Because of your power?” Izuku guessed tentatively.

“You’re only half right.” Zero shook her head. “Normal humans have their Soul Box – _the spirit_ – and their Meat Box – _the body_ – completely integrated. Only upon death does the Soul Box gets separated and the key that secures it opened—which is why you’re able to access it now.”

Hearing her words, a cold feeling settled inside Izuku’s chest.

_Upon death_?

“That Villain… killed me?” Izuku muttered in disbelief.

Zero nodded without looking at him. “And you would have perished if it wasn’t for me forcefully chaining your spirit here with my power.”

There was a brief silence before Zero turned towards him.

“So I asked again, are you willing to form a Pact with me? Though your soul is still here, it can’t come back to your body. Not on its own. But if you form a Pact with me, I can use my power to forcefully reconnect you back to your body.”

Izuku’s heart skipped a beat at her offer.

He was only fourteen years old. He couldn’t die here. His mom was waiting for him at home. He couldn’t bear the thought of her waiting for him to come home until night only to find out that he died in a ditch somewhere.

If there was a chance for him to come back to life, then…

He opened his mouth to accept, but before he could voice his acceptance Zero raised her voice.

“ _But!_ ” Zero yelled, stopping him from agreeing too quickly. “If you decided to accept me, there are conditions.”

Izuku frowned in confusion. “Conditions?”

Zero nodded.

“This flower is… _I_ am a parasitic flower. If you accept me, you will live. You will also inherit my power and become the strong person you’ve always wished to be, but there is a price you must pay. A _curse_ you will have to bear. So choose carefully,” Zero told him as she craned her neck to gaze up the buds of the flower.

Izuku gulped, feeling anxious at the way her mouth tightened as she said those words.

“…What… what is the price?”

“You’ll have to find out by yourself,” Zero told him. “Some people covet it—will kill and sacrifice others to get even a glimpse of it—but I know you, Izuku. I know that in time the price you’ll have to pay will make you so unhappy you’ll yearn for death.”

There was a silence as Izuku tried to take in her words. 

He could tell that Zero won’t answer any further questions even if he pressed, so he didn’t bother trying.

He bit his lower lip as he mulled over his options.

Something that would make him unhappy in time, bad enough to want to make him yearn for death…

He might not know what it was, but Zero seemed unwilling to let him accept—like she didn’t want to push this curse onto him—but was it just a psychological trick to make him accept? Or was that flicker of emotions he saw in her eyes genuine?

Sensing his hesitation, Zero gave him a small smile.

“You’d be wise to distrust me. I haven’t explained anything to you and I keep giving you vague explanations. I haven’t told you who I am, how I ended up here in _your_ Soul Box, or who Mikhail is, but you need to decide now. I could only keep you here for so long and… you’re running out of time.”

Izuku swallowed his anxiety.

It was true that Zero hadn’t been honest with him and all of _this_ was crazy enough for him to believe that it was just a strange hallucination, but…

“You’re right. You still haven’t told me anything and I’m still so confused about what this pact you offered me entails, but—but you made sure I knew that there are consequences that I must bear before I could accept it,” Izuku told her. 

He clenched his trembling hands and met her eyes.

_An uncertain future, or no future at all?_

“That’s why, I don’t think you’re someone who wants to deceive me, Zero. I decided to trust you, so no matter what the price is, I’ll accept it. I can’t die now. I still have so much to live for, I…”

_Be brave, Izuku. For once in your life._

He extended his hand towards the white-haired woman and gave her a warm smile.

“Let us form this Pact, Zero.”

Zero’s eyes widened at his words before they softened. She snorted and rested her hand on top of his.

“You’re a fool,” she said, giving him a small smile back.

Izuku laughed nervously, not denying her.

Zero’s smile turned sad as she closed her eyes, accepting his decision.

“ _Heed my call_ ,” Zero announced as she interlaced their hands together. 

Izuku watched in awe as light emanated from their connected hands. A ring of light made of the same strange symbols he saw crawling on the giant flower earlier circled around them as a flower symbol bloomed under their feet.

The light grew ever brighter and before it could completely blind his vision, Izuku could see Zero’s lips moving to say something. He couldn’t hear it clearly because she was murmuring it under her breath, but he thought he could hear her faint voice apologizing to him.

_“By the power of my song, I hereby forge a Pact._

_In exchange for the life of this boy…”_

…And then Izuku opened his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soul Box and Meat Box are borrowed from NieR: Automata. Just the name though. The concept of the boxes here is my headcanon too, but the Soul Box will be important later!
> 
> The strange symbols Izuku saw is [Drakengard’s Angelic Alphabet/NieR’s Ancient Script.](https://rologeass.tumblr.com/post/73676488142/in-depth-with-drakengards-world-language-and) With the post as reference, here are what the symbols that were mentioned in the story look like:
> 
> The symbols that crawled on the Flower:  
> 
> 
> The symbols that appeared during the Pact:  
> 


	3. Miracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of this chapter is so hard to write but with the power of HOPE and FRIENDSHIP that [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwNNiyu56yY) gave me, I finally finished this chapter.
> 
> Also, chapter-length will start to be longer from now on (hopefully). I usually write around 4k-10k words per chapter in my other fics in that other account I mentioned in Ch1 depending on my mood lol
> 
> (Also there’s a small post-Persona 5 Royal rant at ending notes, skip it if you don’t want spoilers! Link for the song above is also a little spoilery.)

Izuku screamed.

It felt like something was crawling out of his right eye. 

Slowly. 

Painfully. 

The pain was like something he never felt before and he  _ thought _ he knew what pain was after all those years of becoming the target of Bakugou and his friends’ bullying.

His screams faded into pathetic whimpers as his hand reached up towards the source of the pain, but instead of an eye, his fingertips were met with the velvety surface of a flower petal.

A flower had grown out of his right eye socket.

_ What the heck...?  _ He thought in disbelieve.

“Young man, are you alright?”

He heard someone said, voice thick with concern as he placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku looked up towards the owner of that voice and tried to focus through his blurry eyes, but he could only make out the tall shadowy figure of a blond-haired man with piercing blue eyes.

_ It hurts,  _ he wanted to say, but all that escaped his lips were a weak whimper.

_ “With this, the Pact is complete,”  _ he heard Zero’s voice ringing inside his head.

He clutched on the man’s hands with his trembling hands and bit back a sob when the last twinge of pain faded from his eye at last.

It wasn’t a dream. 

He was attacked by a Villain, died, he forged a Pact with a mysterious Flower with a pet dragon that apparently lived inside his soul and was resurrected from death by said Flower.

His chest heaved as the reality of his situation began to sink into him.

_ It wasn’t a dream. _

“Young man, please hold on. Help will come soon, stay with me,” the man who was with him said as he rubbed Izuku’s back, trying to calm him down so he didn’t pass out from hyperventilation, but Izuku could already feel himself getting fainter.

He didn’t remember passing out, but the next time he opened his eyes again it was to the strong smell of antiseptics and the familiar sight of the Musutafu General Hospital's white ceiling. His mom worked at the hospital and he visited her at work sometimes so he recognized it well. Only this hospital was willing to use that ugly pattern for its ceiling.

There was a faint murmur of conversation in the room and Izuku recognized one of the voices as his mom’s. He didn't recognize the other one though.

When did he get to the hospital?

“…Mom?” He croaked out, trying to sit up from the bed he was laying on. He found that it was a surprisingly hard task—somehow his limbs felt like they weighed a tonne.

Why was he so exhausted?

The conversation stopped as his mom rushed to his side when they noticed that he was awake.

“Oh, Izuku…! You’re awake! Thank… thank god…” She murmured into his hair, tears falling continuously as she pulled him into an embrace. “I was  _ so _ worried… are you feeling alright, honey? Do you need me to call for a doctor to check on you?”

Izuku shook his head, smiling slightly as he rubbed his mom’s back reassuringly. He felt bad for always worrying her, but he couldn’t deny that her worry over his wellbeing always warmed his heart.

“Mm, I’m fine…” Izuku answered as her mom pulled back to fuss over him. His eyes met with the gaunt man who he assumed was the one who was talking with his mom earlier and he turned to his mom questioningly. “Who is he?”

His mom’s eyes darted towards the blond man who was observing them with a small smile.

“Oh! He’s Yagi Toshinori-san. He was the one who found you after you were attacked by that Villain,” She answered as she wiped her tears with a handkerchief with a faint blush, embarrassed at her burst of emotions in front of a stranger.

The man nodded his head politely at him. “Nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun. I’m glad to see that you’ve recovered.”

Izuku let out a soft gasp the sound of his voice, finally recognizing it.

“I remember your voice. You were trying to calm me down when I was in pain before,” Izuku said, his eyes widening in recognition. “Thank you, Yagi-san.”

“It was the least I could do, Young Midoriya,” the man smiled kindly at his gratitude. “I was afraid that I was too late in coming to your aid, but I’m glad that you’re okay now.”

There was a brief awkward silence after that before his mom opened her mouth again.

“How are you feeling now, sweetie? The doctors told us that your body is completely healthy and that you just fainted from exhaustion, but…” Her mom hesitated, biting her lower lip before she continued grimly. “Yagi-san told me what happened. He said you were clinically dead for almost 25 minutes before the ambulance got to you.”

“Dead…” Izuku whispered under his breath, hand reaching up to touch his right eye. Upon coming in contact with the Flower that occupied it, Izuku remembered the Pact that he made with the mysterious woman.

Zero… what will happen to him now?

_ “Nothing. Just live your life like normal, _ ” a voice rang inside his head and he barely managed to catch himself from jumping in shock at the unexpected reply.

_ “Don’t reply to me out loud if you don’t want your mother and that man to think that you’re a weirdo,”  _ Zero said again.  _ “We made a Pact, so I’ll be able to communicate with you like this from now on.” _

Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself.  _ The Pact can do that? _

_ “Mm. And a bunch of other things too. Now stop ‘spacing out’, you’re freaking your mother out.” _

Izuku blinked to see his mom staring at him with concern.

“Ah, no, Mom… I’m fine, don’t worry.” Izuku smiled awkwardly, hoping that it was convincing enough for her not to press it further.

His mom frowned but nodded in acquiescence. “If you’re sure…”

“If I may ask… was it your Quirk that revived you, Young Midoriya? I was really surprised when you woke up and started screaming. I thought I was… already too late to save you,” Yagi-san finished awkwardly.

Izuku bit his lip as he contemplated how to answer his question.

_ “Don’t think too much about it. Tell him that the Flower is your Quirk, but don’t tell him about me or our Pact. It wouldn’t be good for anyone to be overly interested in you,”  _ Zero advised him.

“Y-yes. I think so,” Izuku nodded at the gaunt man. “I’m not actually sure since I have what is called an invisible Quirk and that was the first time my Quirk manifested, but when I was, um, dead… I saw a giant Flower.”

Yagi-san looked intrigued. “A giant flower?”

“Mm. It rose from the ground and towered over me. When I touched it,”  _ or rather when he touched Zero’s hand,  _ “There was this glow. The next thing I knew I was back at that alley, in pain because the Flower was forcing itself out of my eye.”

Both his mom and Yagi-san were stunned by his heavily edited explanation of what happened.

"But hey, at least I'm alive right?" Izuku laughed awkwardly, trying to fill the silence.

Yagi-san coughed into his handkerchief before giving him a sincere smile. “I’ve never heard of a Quirk that could do that, but it seemed that it saved your life today. You have a wonderful Quirk, Young Midoriya.”

Izuku didn’t expect the man to give such a heartfelt response and felt a little guilty for omitting the truth from him.

“Thank you,” he murmured softly, trying to crush the uncomfortable feeling before his eyes widened, remembering something. “Wait, what happened to the Villain? Did he get away?”

Yagi-san shook his head. “I handed him to the police. Don’t worry, he’ll receive just punishment for what he did to you.”

Izuku perked up at his words.

“You subdued him? Are you a Hero, Yagi-san?” He asked, curious and a bit worried. 

He wasn’t one to judge a person by how they look, but describing the blond man as ‘gaunt’ was already a bit too generous. In reality, he was almost skeletal. It’s hard to imagine him doing Hero work with how frail he looked.

The man nodded bashfully. “I’m just a secretary at All Might’s agency, but I do have a Hero license.”

“You work with All Might!?” Izuku gasped, wide-eyed. “That’s amazing!”

Did all the staffs at All Might’s agency have their own Hero license or was it just Yagi-san?! Either way that’s so cool…! Was he able to see All Might often, then? Aaah he wished he could meet All Might in person too one day!

He couldn’t see Zero’s face as she was only a disembodied voice inside his head, but somehow he had a feeling that Zero was rolling her eyes at his excitement as she muttered,  _ “You’re so embarrassing,”  _ telepathically into his head.  _ "You do realize you just said all of that out loud?" _

Izuku slapped his hands over his mouth, his cheeks flaming up in embarrassment.

_ He did what?!  _ He panicked, feeling the urge to dig a hole to hide into overwhelming him when he heard the older man chuckling at his words.

“I take it you’re a fan of his?” Yagi-san asked, a tint of fondness in his voice.

Izuku felt his cheeks reddening even more.

“Well…”

“He’s not just a fan. My Izuku here is his  _ biggest _ fan. I think his room could be considered an ‘All Might Shrine’ with how much merchandise he’d collected over the years displayed there,” His mom giggled behind her hand.

Izuku gasped and shot a mock offended look at his mom.

The betrayal…!

Yagi-san smiled seeing his reaction, his eyes gaining a soft look. “He’ll be happy to know a brave and resilient young man such as yourself admired him, Midoriya-kun.”

Izuku shot him an embarrassed look, face flushed, but he was truly happy to hear that from someone who knew All Might personally.

“…Thank you,” he settled on answering. “Um, Yagi-san, could you tell me about—”

He was about to ask the man about All Might’s agency, but mid-sentence he was suddenly cut off with a yawn. Seeing him yawn, Yagi-san checked his smartphone and turned towards his mom.

“It’s late, I’ll leave you both to rest,” Yagi-san announced before gathering his things to get ready to leave. Izuku swallowed his disappointment at that, but he really did feel exhausted so he didn’t persist on keeping the blond man there to entertain his curiosity. 

His mom stood to help him and exchanged a few pleasantries as Izuku leaned back to rest his back on the bed again.

It was a bit weird… he just woke up and yet he felt so lethargic and exhausted _ — _ like he had just run a marathon. Why was he so tired?

_ “It took energy to revive you, of course you’d be tired,”  _ Zero told him flatly.  _ “You need rest, but sleep won’t do much to recover your energy. Ask your mom to hold your hand while you sleep if you want to be fully energized tomorrow.” _

_ Holding hands? Why?  _ Izuku thought back.

_ “You’re the vessel of the Flower now—an Intoner,”  _ Zero answered. _ “You won’t recover your energy by eating or sleeping like normal humans.” _

_ ‘Normal’ human? Am I not one anymore?  _ He wondered, frowning.  _ Then how do I recover my energy? _

_ “By eating other human’s life force,”  _ Zero said simply.

His eyes widened.  _ What?! Eating other human’s life?! _

_ “No, Dumbass. I said their life  _ force _ , not their  _ life, _ ”  _ Zero said in a voice that conveyed her feelings of ‘why the hell am I stuck with this moron’ very clearly.  _ “You just need skin-to-skin contact with humans to absorb their life force. Unlike you, they could recover by eating and sleeping so take in as much as you want from them. It won’t harm them. As long as you don’t suck them dry they should be fine.” _

Izuku was about to ask her for more explanation when he was called by his mom.

“Izuku, Yagi-san is leaving now,” his mom told him.

“O-oh! Right. Please be careful on your way home,” Izuku said to the man. He paused as he tried to bow as best as he could from his position. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me today. I hope I can repay your kindness in the future.”

The man smiled warmly at him in response.

“There’s no need. I’m truly glad that you seem healthy despite everything that happened, Young Midoriya. Please, take care of yourself and get better soon.”

“…I will,” Izuku promised.

The man left and he was left alone with his mom in that hospital room.

“What a nice man. He stayed by your side until I arrived here, you know?” His mom told him. Her eyes softened as she took in the sight of the Flower on his pale face. “Oh, Izuku… I’m so __ glad you’re alive. Please don’t make me worry like that again.”

There was a pang of guilt in his chest for always making her worry about him.

He really didn’t deserve her. 

“I’ll… I’ll try, Mom,” Izuku murmured as she pulled him into another embrace. “…I’m sorry.”

❀

The doctors came to check Izuku’s condition again and declared that he was as healthy as he could ever be. Though they suggested he should stay overnight so they could monitor his condition for a bit longer in case anything happened during the following hours, if nothing did he could be discharged tomorrow.

Izuku did end up asking his mom to hold his hand while he rested. She was only too happy to indulge in his childlike wish after the scare of losing him earlier.

Her hand was not that much different than his in size, only a little bigger. The tips of her fingers were slightly calloused from her work, but they were warm and comforting. When she held his hands, he felt safe and his worries and fears just melted away like they never existed in the first place.

He was on the verge of sleep when he heard his mom murmuring softly.

“You know… years ago, I used to have a Flower that looked exactly like the one you have on your eye.”

Izuku had to blink several times to make sure he didn’t hear that wrong.

“Huh?”

“Mhm. Your father gave it to me before we were married,” his mom said as she stroked his hair lovingly. “He didn’t have enough money to buy a fancy diamond ring at the time but he really wanted to marry me, so he proposed by offering me a flower he found when he was abroad,” she giggled softly.

“I really love that flower. Its presence always made the continuous absence of your father more bearable. He said he named it ‘Lunar Tear’ because it was an eternal flower that glows a faint white light, just like the moon,” his mom continued, smiling fondly as she recalled her treasured memory. “Only one exists in the whole world and he’s giving it to  _ me _ . I was so flattered that I had to accept,” she joked.

Izuku tilted his head curiously. “What happened to that flower?”

“Well… when I was pregnant with you, I suddenly got sick. It was so bad that I genuinely thought that I was going to die,” his mom hummed softly. “I remembered crying a lot at night. Not because I’m afraid of death, but because I thought I wouldn’t be able to give birth to you before I die.”

There was a sharp pang in his heart at her words.

_ Mom… _

“But then something strange happened, you know. I fainted from the pain one night and when I wake up I find that my sickness was gone, but so was that flower,” his mom continued, smiling a little. “We still didn't know what happened to this day. Your dad said it was impossible, but I really believe it must have been the flower that saved me back then.”

She reached up and stroked Izuku’s hair lovingly. When Izuku met her eyes, she smiled and tightened her hold on his hand.

“I believe that it saved you too, Izuku.”

Izuku opened his mouth, trying to find a response to that, but the feeling of her fingers carding through his hair was so comforting he ended up letting out a big yawn instead. She giggled when she saw him struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Sleep, Izuku. Mom will watch over you tonight,” he heard her promising to him softly.

Izuku murmured his thanks and closed his eyes.

Then, suddenly he found himself in the center of his Soul Box again.

He blinked slowly, not believing his eyes.

“…Huh?”

Zero, who was sitting on the flower petal covered ground while leaning her back against Mikhail, somehow looked as surprised as he did at his sudden appearance there. 

“Why are you here  _ again _ ?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Izuku quickly shook his head, a little intimidated by the way she looked at him.

“I don’t know! I was falling asleep then I’m standing here again!” He told her, panicking slightly. He wrung his hands in front of him nervously as he stole glances at her to see if she was mad or not. 

“…I-is this not normal? You didn’t call me here?” He asked unsurely.

“What part of ‘only upon death’ do you not understand?” Zero retorted back as she rose from her position. “Soul Boxes really do only open at the moment of someone’s death. It should be impossible for you to reach this place again—wait…”

Zero paused, seemingly coming up with a theory. She approached him and walked around him, squinting thoughtfully as she looked him up and down.

Izuku squirmed under her gaze, still uncomfortable by their nudity.

“Hmm… that might be it,” she muttered lowly as she pulled away from him.

Izuku looked at her nervously. “W-what?”

“Congratulations! Your Quirk finally decided to show itself,” Zero exclaimed, clapping her hands loudly exactly once with a flat expression.

“…M-my Quirk? So I really do have one?” Izuku asked in disbelief.

“Mmhm. It’s probably ‘ _ the ability to enter your Soul Box anytime you want it once you unlock it,’  _ or something along that line. I don't know, I’m not sure. This has never happened before so it's also a mystery to me as it is to you,” Zero shrugged. “I believe that because you can’t control it yet you’re probably going to accidentally come here a lot in the future until you get a grasp on how to properly wield it.  _ Then,  _ you can enter anytime you want.”

“Oh… so that’s it,” Izuku whispered, looking at his hands in contemplation. “It makes sense that it wouldn’t manifest before the attack then, if the condition for the Soul Box to be opened was death.”

Zero shrugged again, not really interested in discussing it further. “Well, no matter. Since you’re here, I want to offer you a deal.”

Izuku tilted his head curiously. 

“A deal?”

“For me to teach you about your new power _ — _ about the magic of an Intoner,” Zero told him as she went back to lean against Mikhail’s scales. “I can tell you everything you need to know if you agree to do several things for me. Of course, you’re free to refuse my offer since this isn’t a part of our Pact, but I won’t help you then. You’ll just have to discover things as you go."

She paused, looking him in the eye.

"Though... you want to be a Hero, do you not? The test you need to take is only 10 months away, isn’t it?” She continued, smiling a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Are you confident enough that you can prepare yourself in time without my help?"

Izuku frowned.  _ 10 months… the U.A. entrance exam? _

“How do you know that?” Izuku asked her in surprise. “In the first place, how did you know my name? And you said you  _ know  _ me, back when you warned me about the price of our Pact.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Zero mused.

“You did. But how? I’ve never met you before today,” Izuku muttered, narrowing his eyes as he tried to remember if he ever met her, but he was certain he never did. Then, he remembered the story his mom told him just earlier before he fell asleep.

_ “…I used to have a Flower that looked exactly like the one you have on your eye.” _

“…The Lunar Tear?” Izuku asked her doubtfully. Zero stayed silent when he mentioned the name of the flower his mom used to have, but she did not deny his theory. His eyes widened in surprise at her not-denial. 

“Wait,  _ really _ ?! You’re that flower?!”

Zero, being her awful mysterious self, just answered him with a small smile that he couldn’t read the meaning of. Izuku tried to fight himself from pouting, believe him, he really did.

“Can’t you be honest for once?” Izuku grumbled when he lost that fight. 

It really doesn’t matter if she was or wasn’t that same flower, but he wished Zero would tell him something. Anything. Everything happened so fast and he was just so confused right now, but instead of telling him the truth she just gave him another smile.

“You’ll find out one day.”

Hearing her response, Izuku just sighed. It didn't seem like she was going to be cooperative even if he pushed, so he let it go.

“What do you want me to in exchange for your guidance anyway?” He asked her finally.

“Hmm…” Zero craned her neck to look up at the dragon’s peaceful face. “I want you to try wake Mikhail up from his slumber.”

“Wake him up? How?” Izuku echoed. 

He looked up at the massive white dragon who was breathing softly in his sleep and back to Zero again, unsure if he could accomplish something like that when he didn’t even know what his new power could do.

“I don’t know. That’s for you to figure out.” Zero shrugged. “It's alright, you don’t have to do it right now or anything. You’re still pathetically weak so you can hold up your end of the deal later once you get stronger if you decided to accept.”

Izuku wanted to bristle from being called pathetic, but he couldn’t even deny her words. He really  _ was  _ weak right now.

“It definitely won't be an easy task. I know it’ll be difficult, but… I’m just asking you to try,” Zero continued, closing her eyes. 

Somehow Izuku got the impression that she was feeling resigned—like she didn’t have any hope of him to even succeeding but she had no choice but to ask for his help. It was an expression that didn’t suit someone as strong and confident as her, Izuku decided. If he could help it, he never wanted Zero to make that kind of face again.

“I accept this deal,” he told Zero with no hesitation.

“Oh?”

He nodded, smiling slightly as he went to sit beside her against Mikhail’s scales.

“Well, you’re right. The U.A. entrance exams are only 10 months away. I won’t be able to get ready in time if I have to discover everything by myself, so I do need your help if I want to get into the Hero Course. Besides…” he glanced at her, a small smile on his face. “Mikhail is someone who's important to you, right?”

Zero’s eyes widened at his words.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, but I sure will do my damnedest. Even if you’re not the same flower that saved my mom, there are still a lot of things that I have to repay you,” Izuku told her as he fidgeted with his hands timidly. “You gave me a second chance at life. I won’t be here talking to you if you didn’t save me back there, so I want to help you this time. That’s why I accept.”

Then, his smile turned bashful. “Also maybe, until he wakes up, I can visit you here often so you don’t get lonely. And, when he finally did it, we can tell him ‘ _ good morning _ !’ together.”

Izuku paused, scratching his cheek shyly as he glanced at Zero again briefly before averting his eyes.

“Then, maybe… when that time comes we’ll be close enough for you to trust me with your story.”

Hearing his words, Zero’s eyes softened, a small smile gracing her face as she touched her shoulder with his own to silently convey her feelings of appreciation to him.

“Ulterior motives are unbecoming,” she told him, her voice fond. “But… thanks.”

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his hospital room, still clutching his mom’s hand—feeling more invigorated than he had ever been in literal years and bearing a new determination in his heart.

One day, he’ll become a Hero and fulfill his promise with Zero. Until that day comes, he’ll have to work hard so he wouldn't disappoint those who had supported him all these times.

He won't ever look back again.

_ One day for sure _ , he promised himself as he gazed out on the rose-pink color of the dawn sky beyond his window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Lunar Tear](https://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/nier-2/6/69/Park.PNG) is another reference to NieR series.
> 
> The Zero I write here is a mix of the Japanese and English ver. of Zero, but I mostly use JP!Zero so she’s way less angry than the EN!Zero here. She also doesn’t swear as much, instead use sarcasm when she’s pissed. I love both versions, but I personally don’t swear a lot IRL so I don’t think I can do EN!Zero’s swearing justice. Also, she mellowed out a lot after all these years.
> 
> One day, Zero will tell her story. Until then, you’ll be as confused as Izuku if you don’t play DOD3 :)
> 
> ALSO I JUST FINISHED P5R LAST NIGHT AND UGGHRGH. Hearing “I Believe” on the day of their last heist, after the revelation the night before? The hopeful and optimistic lyrics made me so emotional when I climb those stairs.
> 
> Also the ending song???? God the lyrics are just… amazing. Really sad but hopeful at the same time.
> 
> _“When the morning comes and I start to remember, you have disappeared  
>  I’ll keep walking on this path that I have decided on for myself  
> Always, even if it’s painful  
> Towards the star of tomorrow that I’m aiming for”_
> 
> After that kind of 'happy' ending, hearing that part of the song when the credits roll I can't help but cry. The lyrics describe Joker’s feelings towards Akechi perfectly and remembering the fact that what makes Joker the happiest is if Akechi is with him is just so painful when I listen to the lyrics. P5R is not a perfect game but god, I love it so much.


End file.
